Then, instead of planning on spending a lot of money on Christmas gifts, save some money by making or baking gifts for people! When it comes down to it, Christmas is about friends and family.

They don’t want gifts from you so they can get a nice stash of loot, they want gifts from you that show that you care. Gifts that you make or bake are as good at that—sometimes even better—as presents that you buy at a store.

The important tip here is to use whatever skills you have. If you can’t make a batch of cookies without burning them, you probably don’t want to bake people gifts. Your gifts don’t have to even be creative in nature—whatever your skill is, offer it! If you can clean a house from top to bottom in two hours, give that to someone who’s just moved and is feeling overwhelmed.

If you are an artist, paint something that complements your friend’s decor. Once you start thinking about your family and what kinds of gifts they would enjoy, you’ll have no problem coming up with gifts to make and bake!